IN colorful getups, three sisters showed up last Saturday afternoon to join the fourth and last regional camp of the Jr. NBA Philippines at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City.
Their father, Philippine Basketball Association cager Arwind Santos of San Miguel Beer and his wife Yvette, came and watched them go through the drills with the supervision of the coaches of the camp.
“Natuwa sila sa laro. Hindi malayo, kasi ang tatay nila mahilig, naglalaro at napapanood nila,” said Santos, while the observing the routines.
His daughters Danica, Ella and Audrey gamely went through routines that tested their speed, dribbling, free throws, jumping, endurance and agility.
Santos said he never thought the three would take basketball very seriously together.
He had been encouraging them to also take up the game of volleyball because Arwind feels that the physicality of the game of basketball could take its toll on the three.
Anyway, the interests of the 15-year-old Danica and the 14-year-old Ella have already caught the attention of their school, Holy Rosary School in Lubao, Pampanga.
The two are being eyed to be part of Region III’s secondary girls’ basketball team in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa.
That day, over 875 attended the morning session and more were waiting in line during the afternoon activities, presented by Alaska Milk.
The weekend camp was the last chance of young ballers to make the cut for the National Capital Region.
The camp, which is for boys aged 10 to 14, is part of the National Basketball Association’s youth development program that’s been touring different key cities and towns since January this year.
Coaches, led by Chris Sumner and Jeffrey Cariaso, held drills on the second day Sunday, along with team activities and scrimmages to test their skills’ level.
The national training camp from May 12 to 14 will be at the Don Bosco and the SM Mall of Asia.
At the NTC, eight top performing boys and girls will be chosen.